In Honor of Amaya

Amaya’s Story

Welcome to our CaringBridge site. It has been created to keep friends and family updated about our loved one.

My Story is the introduction to our CaringBridge site.

Be sure to read the latest in the journal, view the photo gallery, and drop us a line in the guestbook.On Jan. 20,2006, my wife decided to take Amaya, our three year old daughter, to the doctor because she was losing her balance and not running around like a madwoman as usual. Our pediatrician was worried after seeing her walk to another room, and by the pressure she saw behind her eyes. After hearing this I was scared as well, since the pediatrician decided to send her to a neurologist on Jan. 24 of that same year. The PA did several tests and then told us that he needed to consult with someone else before telling us his diagnosis. Then, our lives changed forever, the PA came back in with 2 other doctors. One of the doctors let us know that our daughter had a brain tumor. I do not think I have ever been so scared in my life. My first thought was that she was going to die in a month. We were sent over to CHKD for a CT SCAN and to be admitted into the hospital. The very next morning she had a surgery to put an EVD in place. This device is used to take the extra spinal fluid caused by the tumor out of the body. Two days later she had her first MRI. We had to wait a couple days to get the results back, and then we found out that it was indeed a cancerous tumor that could not be taken out with surgery. The doctor was not sure what level of cancer it was so a biopsy had to be done. After the biopsy, a part of the tumor was sent to the Mayo Clinic in order for us to get the exact level of the cancer. Before we found out about the level of cancer, she had to have an internal shunt inserted into her head. This would take the place of the EVD. After an agonizing week, we were told that she had the lowest level of cancer and chemotherapy could possibly work for her. Radiation would not be used because of her age, and the placement of the tumor made surgery impossible. We would like to thank all of our family and friends for their support during the past 7 years.
Amaya passed away on march 18, 2013.
If you would like to donate:
Sims family fund at any Towne Bank

Latest Journal Update

First Angelversary

I want to thank everyone who helped out with donations for St. Baldricks. It was a success. It's especially awesome when I get hang out with the members of the childhood cancer community. All of them are great people and I hope to get to see them more in the future. They give some of the best hugs! Please, continue to pray for Nathan Norman and Dylan Fortunato. They are still fighting their brave battles. There are several dates that bring about different types of emotions. March 18th brings up every emotion possible. There's happiness, sadness, joy, anger, grief, love, and heartbreak all part of this day and every day. The positive emotions are a part of the legacy that Amaya left so many people. We decided to spend time together today and do a few things. Kai's school trip was canceled, but he went to school to have a normal day. He loves school and doesn't quite understand the calendar yet. I stopped for coffee this morning since it was too cold to get a Frapaccino from Starbucks. Well, Amaya didn't think it was too cold. Somehow, I spilled some of the coffee in the car. So, we took a trip to Starbucks to make things right with the universe. We went to the mall and bought some soap from Bath & Body Works. Amaya loved going to that store. And mostly any other store thanks to her Aunt Rose. Then we went to the movies. I wanted to see Frozen or the Lego Movie, but I was told we already saw them once. Bummer! We saw a movie with Liam Neeson called Non-Stop. It was good, but it wasn't as entertaining Frozen or the Lego Movie. We are taking it day by day. Thank you for your prayers!